DIY Tonic Water Recipe

If you're unhappy with the flavor of commercial tonics and like to geek out in the kitchen, DIY tonic is a lot of fun. This basic recipe goes well with gin and is a great starting point for playing with your own unique herb and spice combinations.

Notes

The tonic is going to be yellowish-brown in color. This is a normal and natural result from using cinchona bark instead of synthetic or pharmaceutical quinine. Lhasa Karnak sells cinchona bark online and at their Berkeley locations. Some Latin or Asian markets carry it as well. I used cut bark rather than powder, because it is easier to filter and provides a bold flavor.

Yield:Makes about 1 1/2 cups of syrup, enough for 6 cups of tonic water

Active time:1 hour and 10 minutes

Total time:3 hours and 10 minutes

Rated:

Ingredients

1 lemon

1 lime

2 cups water

2 teaspoons cut cinchona bark

1 1/4 teaspoons citric acid powder

1 stalk lemongrass, sliced (about 2/3 cup)

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 cups carbonated water

Directions

1.

Zest lemon and lime and place in medium saucepan. Juice lemon and lime and add juice to saucepan, along with water, cinchona bark, citric acid powder, lemongrass, and sugar. Bring to a boil on high heat.

2.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 45 minutes. Remove from heat and let mixture steep for 20 minutes.

3.

Strain mixture through two layers of cheesecloth placed in a fine-mesh sieve. Strain again if there are still particles to be removed. This liquid is the tonic syrup.

4.

Place the tonic syrup in a sealable glass container and refrigerate for at least two hours before use.

5.

To make tonic water, combine the syrup with carbonated water, mixing one part syrup to four parts water. Do not combine them in a large batch unless you intend to use all the tonic water at once. Instead, combine syrup and fresh carbonated water for each individual use.

Special Equipment

Fine-mesh sieve and cheesecloth

This Recipe Appears In

Marcia Simmons is a freelance writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. While she has specialized in developing cocktail recipes and covering cocktail culture, she also writes about food, travel, tech and other topics.

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